Multipurpose downlink control information bit fields

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. In some wireless communications systems, a base station may transmit downlink control information (DCI) messages to a user equipment (UE). A DCI message may be transmitted using a particular DCI format based on the type of control information included in the DCI message. In some cases, different types of control information may be transmitted using the same DCI format. In such cases, one or more bit fields in a DCI format may be useful to a UE for one type of control information but may not be useful to a UE for another type of control information. As described herein, in order to limit the overhead associated with control information transmissions, a base station may support techniques for utilizing these bit fields in a DCI format to transmit information corresponding to the type of control information being transmitted.

CROSS REFERENCES

The present application for patent claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/625,288 by Islam et al., entitled“MULTIPURPOSE DOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION BIT FIELDS,” filed Feb. 1,2018, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporatedherein.

BACKGROUND

The following relates generally to wireless communication and morespecifically to multipurpose downlink control information (DCI) bitfields.

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of suchmultiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such asLong Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, orLTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may bereferred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employtechnologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA),orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discreteFourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM).

A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number ofbase stations or network access nodes, each simultaneously supportingcommunication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwiseknown as user equipment (UE). Some wireless communications systems maysupport control signaling between a base station and a UE such thatthese devices may be able to identify appropriate configurations forcommunicating with each other. As the number of features supported by awireless communications system increases and the amount of controlsignaling between a base station and a UE increases, the overheadassociated with control signaling in a wireless communications systemmay also increase, resulting in reduced throughput in the wirelesscommunications system.

SUMMARY

In some wireless communications systems, a base station may transmitdownlink control information (DCI) messages to a user equipment (UE), inorder to configure the UE for communications with the base station. ADCI message may be transmitted using a particular DCI format based onthe type of control information being transmitted. In some cases,different types of control information may be transmitted using the sameDCI format. In such cases, one or more bit fields in a DCI format may beused for the transmission of one type of control information, and maynot be used (e.g., may be frozen) for another type of controlinformation. As described herein, in order to limit the overheadassociated with control information transmissions, a base station maysupport techniques for using these bit fields in a DCI format totransmit information related to the type of control information beingtransmitted. When a UE receives a DCI message from a base station, theUE may determine the type of control information included in the DCImessage, and the UE may interpret the bit fields in the DCI messagebased on the type of control information included in the DCI message.

A method for wireless communication is described. The method may includemonitoring a control channel for DCI from a base station, identifying aDCI message in the control channel corresponding to a radio networktemporary identifier (RNTI), interpreting at least one bit field in theDCI message based at least in part on the type of control informationincluded in the DCI message and the RNTI, and determining an uplink ordownlink transmission configuration for communicating with the basestation based at least in part on interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message.

An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus mayinclude means for monitoring a control channel for DCI from a basestation, means for identifying a DCI message in the control channelcorresponding to a RNTI, means for interpreting at least one bit fieldin the DCI message based at least in part on the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message and the RNTI, and means fordetermining an uplink or downlink transmission configuration forcommunicating with the base station based at least in part oninterpreting the at least one bit field in the DCI message.

Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatusmay include a processor, memory in electronic communication with theprocessor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions maybe operable to cause the processor to monitor a control channel for DCIfrom a base station, identify a DCI message in the control channelcorresponding to a RNTI, interpret at least one bit field in the DCImessage based at least in part on the type of control informationincluded in the DCI message and the RNTI, and determine an uplink ordownlink transmission configuration for communicating with the basestation based at least in part on interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communication isdescribed. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may includeinstructions operable to cause a processor to monitor a control channelfor DCI from a base station, identify a DCI message in the controlchannel corresponding to a RNTI, interpret at least one bit field in theDCI message based at least in part on the type of control informationincluded in the DCI message and the RNTI, and determine an uplink ordownlink transmission configuration for communicating with the basestation based at least in part on interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message.

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message is determined based at least inpart on the RNTI, wherein the type of control information included inthe DCI message includes paging information, and interpreting at leastone bit field in the DCI message includes interpreting at least one bitfield in the DCI message as a short message indicator. In some examplesof the method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed above, the RNTI includes a paging RNTI (P-RNTI).

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitory computerreadable medium described above, the short message indicator indicateswhether the DCI message comprises a short paging message. In someexamples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer readablemedium described above, the DCI message comprises paging schedulinginformation.

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message is determined based at least inpart on the RNTI, wherein the type of control information included inthe DCI message includes system information, and interpreting at leastone bit field in the DCI message includes interpreting at least one bitfield in the DCI message as a system information format indicator or ashort system information indicator. In some examples of the method,apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described above,the RNTI includes a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI).

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message is determined based at least inpart on the RNTI, wherein the type of control information included inthe DCI message includes random access information, and interpreting atleast one bit field in the DCI message includes interpreting at leastone bit field in the DCI message as a configuration for a Message 3(Msg3) transmission. In some examples of the method, apparatus, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described above, theconfiguration for the Msg3 transmission indicates whether to include abeam index in the Msg3 transmission. In some examples of the method,apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described above,the beam index corresponds to a synchronization signal block index or achannel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) index. In someexamples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readablemedium described above, the RNTI includes a random access RNTI(RA-RNTI).

Some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above may further include processes,features, means, or instructions for identifying a first DCI message inthe control channel corresponding to a first RNTI, where the first RNTIcomprises a P-RNTI, interpreting at least one bit field in the first DCImessage as a first indication, identifying a second DCI message in thecontrol channel corresponding to a cell RNTI (C-RNTI), and interpretingat least one bit field in the second DCI message as a second indication.In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the second indicationcomprises a DCI format identifier, a transmit power control (TPC)command for scheduled physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a PUCCHresource indicator, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)-to-hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback timing indicator, a new dataindicator, a redundancy version indicator, or a HARQ process number.

Some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above may further include processes,features, means, or instructions for determining a first type of controlinformation included in the first DCI message based at least in part onthe P-RNTI, wherein the first type of control information included inthe first DCI message comprises a short paging message or downlinkpaging scheduling information, and determining a second type of controlinformation included in the second DCI message based at least in part onthe C-RNTI, wherein the second type of control information included inthe second DCI message comprises a configuration for at least one of anuplink or downlink transmission.

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message includes a grant, andinterpreting at least one bit field in the DCI message includesinterpreting at least one bit field in the DCI message as a DCI formatidentifier, a transmit power control (TPC) command for scheduledphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a PUCCH resource indicator, aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)-to-hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) feedback timing indicator, a new data indicator, aredundancy version indicator, or a HARQ process number. In some examplesof the method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed above, the RNTI includes a cell RNTI (C-RNTI).

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, determining the type ofcontrol information included in the DCI message further includesidentifying resources used to transmit the DCI message. Some examples ofthe method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed above may further include processes, features, means, orinstructions for determining the type of control information included inthe DCI message based at least in part on the resources used to transmitthe DCI message.

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the at least one bit field inthe DCI message provides a different indication from a respective bitfield in another DCI message including another type of controlinformation. In some examples of the method, apparatus, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described above, interpretingthe at least one bit field in the DCI message includes interpreting theat least one bit field in the DCI message as a first indication when theRNTI includes a first RNTI, and interpreting the at least one bit fieldin the DCI message as a second indication when the RNTI includes asecond RNTI that may be different from the first RNTI. In some examplesof the method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed above, the RNTI corresponding to the DCI message may be usedto successfully descramble cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits attachedto the DCI message.

A method for wireless communication is described. The method may includeidentifying, at a base station, a first type of control information totransmit to a UE in a DCI message, generating the DCI message fortransmitting the first type of control information, utilizing at leastone bit field in the DCI message to provide an indication correspondingto the first type of control information, where the indication providedby the at least one bit field is different from an indication providedby a respective bit field in another DCI message for a second type ofcontrol information, and transmitting the DCI message to the UE, wherethe DCI message includes an uplink or downlink transmissionconfiguration for communicating with the base station, based at least inpart on the at least one bit field in the DCI message.

An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus mayinclude means for identifying a first type of control information totransmit to a UE in a DCI message, means for generating the DCI messagefor transmitting the first type of control information, means forutilizing at least one bit field in the DCI message to provide anindication corresponding to the first type of control information, wherethe indication provided by the at least one bit field is different froman indication provided by a respective bit field in another DCI messagefor a second type of control information, and means for transmitting theDCI message to the UE, where the DCI message includes an uplink ordownlink transmission configuration for communicating with the basestation, based at least in part on the at least one bit field in the DCImessage.

Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatusmay include a processor, memory in electronic communication with theprocessor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions maybe operable to cause the processor to identify a first type of controlinformation to transmit to a UE in a DCI message, generate the DCImessage for transmitting the first type of control information, utilizeat least one bit field in the DCI message to provide an indicationcorresponding to the first type of control information, where theindication provided by the at least one bit field is different from anindication provided by a respective bit field in another DCI message fora second type of control information, and transmit the DCI message tothe UE, where the DCI message includes an uplink or downlinktransmission configuration for communicating with the base station,based at least in part on the at least one bit field in the DCI message.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communication isdescribed. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may includeinstructions operable to cause a processor to identify a first type ofcontrol information to transmit to a UE in a DCI message, generate theDCI message for transmitting the first type of control information,utilize at least one bit field in the DCI message to provide anindication corresponding to the first type of control information, wherethe indication provided by the at least one bit field is different froman indication provided by a respective bit field in another DCI messagefor a second type of control information, and transmit the DCI messageto the UE, where the DCI message includes an uplink or downlinktransmission configuration for communicating with the base station,based at least in part on the at least one bit field in the DCI message.

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the first type of controlinformation includes paging information, and utilizing the at least onebit field in the DCI message to provide an indication corresponding tothe first type of control information includes utilizing the at leastone bit field in the DCI message as a short message indicator. In someexamples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readablemedium described above, the short message indicator indicates whetherthe DCI message comprises a short paging message. In some examples ofthe method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed above, the DCI message contains paging scheduling information.In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, CRC bits of the DCI messagemay be scrambled using a P-RNTI.

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the first type of controlinformation includes system information, and utilizing the at least onebit field in the DCI message to provide an indication corresponding tothe first type of control information includes utilizing the at leastone bit field in the DCI message as a system information formatindicator or a short system information indicator. In some examples ofthe method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed above, CRC bits of the DCI message may be scrambled using aSI-RNTI.

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the first type of controlinformation includes random access information, and utilizing the atleast one bit field in the DCI message to provide an indicationcorresponding to the first type of control information includesutilizing the at least one bit field in the DCI message to indicate aconfiguration for a Msg3 transmission. In some examples of the method,apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described above,the configuration for the Msg3 transmission indicates whether the UEshould transmit a beam index in the Msg3 transmission. In some examplesof the method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable mediumdescribed above, the beam index corresponds to a synchronization signalblock index or a CSI-RS index. In some examples of the method,apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described above,CRC bits of the DCI message may be scrambled using a RA-RNTI.

In some examples of the method, apparatus, and non-transitorycomputer-readable medium described above, the first type of controlinformation includes a grant, and utilizing the at least one bit fieldin the DCI message to provide an indication corresponding to the firsttype of control information includes utilizing the at least one bitfield in the DCI message as a DCI format identifier, a TPC command forscheduled PUCCH, a PUCCH resource indicator, a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedbacktiming indicator, a new data indicator, a redundancy version indicator,or a HARQ process number. In some examples of the method, apparatus, andnon-transitory computer-readable medium described above, CRC bits of theDCI message may be scrambled using a C-RNTI.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate examples of wireless communications systemsthat support multipurpose downlink control information (DCI) bit fieldsin accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate examples of DCI messages transmitted using aparticular DCI format that includes multipurpose bit fields and otherbit fields in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a process flow in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 8-10 show block diagrams of a device that supports multipurposeDCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a system including a userequipment (UE) that supports multipurpose DCI bit fields in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 12-14 show block diagrams of a device that supports multipurposeDCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram of a system including a base stationthat supports multipurpose DCI bit fields in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 16-17 illustrate methods for supporting multipurpose DCI bitfields in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In some wireless communications systems, a base station may transmitdownlink control information (DCI) to a user equipment (UE) to provideconfigurations to the UE for communicating with the base station. Insuch systems, the base station may use a predefined DCI format fortransmitting the DCI to the UE. The DCI format may include variouspredefined bit fields that each correspond to a particular type ofinformation (e.g., a particular indication), and the base station mayidentify a DCI format to use for a transmission of a DCI message basedon a type of control information to be included in the DCI message.

In some cases, the same DCI format may be used for transmittingdifferent types of control information. For example, DCI format 1_0 maybe used for transmitting control information for paging, controlinformation for system information transmissions, control informationfor random access transmissions, or general grants. In such cases, if aDCI format includes fixed predefined fields corresponding to aparticular type of information, the information conveyed by these fieldsmay not be useful for all control information transmissions. As aresult, these fields may not be used (e.g., may be frozen) in certaincontrol information transmissions, resulting in wasted resources.Further, if a DCI format includes bit fields that provide informationthat a UE may be able to determine otherwise, the information conveyedby these fields may not be useful, and the resources used to transmitinformation in these bit fields may be wasted.

As described herein, a wireless communications system may supportefficient techniques for including appropriate information in the bitfields of a DCI message transmitted using a particular DCI format, whichmay serve to limit overhead and the amount of resources wasted in acontrol information transmission. In some aspects, a base station maydetermine appropriate information to include in bit fields of a DCImessage based on the type of control information in the DCI message.

Aspects of the disclosure introduced above are described below in thecontext of a wireless communications system. Examples of processes andsignaling exchanges that support multipurpose DCI bit fields are thendescribed. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by anddescribed with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, andflowcharts that relate to multipurpose DCI bit fields.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The wirelesscommunications system 100 includes base stations 105, UEs 115, and acore network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A)network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In somecases, wireless communications system 100 may support enhanced broadbandcommunications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications,low latency communications, or communications with low-cost andlow-complexity devices.

Base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with UEs 115 via one ormore base station antennas. A base stations 105 described herein mayinclude or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a basetransceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radiotransceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation Node B orgiga-nodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB,a Home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. Wirelesscommunications system 100 may include base stations 105 of differenttypes (e.g., macro or small cell base stations). The UEs 115 describedherein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations105 and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, gNBs,relay base stations, and the like.

Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographiccoverage area 110 in which communications with various UEs 115 issupported. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage fora respective geographic coverage area 110 via communication links 125,and communication links 125 between a base station 105 and a UE 115 mayutilize one or more carriers. Communication links 125 shown in wirelesscommunications system 100 may include uplink transmissions from a UE 115to a base station 105 or downlink transmissions from a base station 105to a UE 115. Downlink transmissions may also be called forward linktransmissions while uplink transmissions may also be called reverse linktransmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 for a base station 105 may be dividedinto sectors making up only a portion of the geographic coverage area110, and each sector may be associated with a cell. For example, eachbase station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, asmall cell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or various combinationsthereof. In some examples, a base station 105 may be movable and maytherefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographiccoverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and overlappinggeographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies maybe supported by the same base station 105 or by different base stations105. The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, aheterogeneous LTE/LTE-A/LTE-A Pro or NR network in which different typesof base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverageareas 110.

The term “cell” refers to a logical communication entity used forcommunication with a base station 105 (e.g., over a carrier), and may beassociated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells(e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier(VCID)) operating via the same or a different carrier. In some examples,a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may beconfigured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-typecommunication (MTC), narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), enhancedmobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access fordifferent types of devices. In some cases, the term “cell” may refer toa portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over whichthe logical entity operates.

UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communications system100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 may also bereferred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, ahandheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitableterminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, astation, a terminal, or a client. A UE 115 may also be a personalelectronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. Insome examples, a UE 115 may also refer to a wireless local loop (WLL)station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything(IoE) device, or an MTC device, or the like, which may be implemented invarious articles such as appliances, vehicles, meters, or the like.

Base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and with oneanother. For example, base stations 105 may interface with the corenetwork 130 through backhaul links 132 (e.g., via an S1 or otherinterface). Base stations 105 may communicate with one another overbackhaul links 134 (e.g., via an X2 or other interface) either directly(e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via corenetwork 130).

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, accessauthorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and otheraccess, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be anevolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobilitymanagement entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and atleast one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may managenon-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility,authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by basestations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be transferredthrough the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GWmay provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The P-GWmay be connected to the network operators IP services. The operator's IPservices may include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IPMultimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched (PS) Streaming Service.

At least some of the network devices, such as a base station 105, mayinclude subcomponents such as an access network entity, which may be anexample of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entitymay communicate with UEs 115 through a number of other access networktransmission entities, which may be referred to as a radio head, a smartradio head, or a transmission/reception point (TRP). In someconfigurations, various functions of each access network entity or basestation 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g.,radio heads and access network controllers) or consolidated into asingle network device (e.g., a base station 105).

In some cases, UEs 115 and base stations 105 may support retransmissionsof data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully.Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique ofincreasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over acommunication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of errordetection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward errorcorrection (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request(ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radioconditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions). In some cases, a wirelessdevice may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provideHARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbolin the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in asubsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.

Time intervals in LTE or NR may be expressed in multiples of a basictime unit, which may, for example, refer to a sampling period ofT_(s)=1/30,720,000 seconds. Time intervals of a communications resourcemay be organized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be expressed asT_(f)=307,200 T_(s). The radio frames may be identified by a systemframe number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of1 ms. A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots each having aduration of 0.5 ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbolperiods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended toeach symbol period). Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period maycontain 2048 sampling periods. In some cases a subframe may be thesmallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100, andmay be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In othercases, a smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g.,in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) or in selected component carriersusing sTTIs).

Wireless communications system 100 may support control signaling betweenbase stations 105 and UEs 115, such that these devices may be able toidentify appropriate configurations for communicating with each other.In the case of downlink control signaling, a base station 105 maytransmit DCI to a UE 115, in order to provide scheduling information,timing information, and other control information. In some cases, a basestation 105 may transmit, to a UE 115, a DCI message using a particularDCI format (e.g., DCI format 1_0). The base station 105 may identify aDCI format to use for a DCI transmission based on a type of controlinformation being transmitted. A DCI format may include predefined bitfields used to provide specific information to a receiving UE 115. Forexample, DCI format 1_0 may include a DCI format identifier bit fieldthat indicates whether a transmitted DCI message provides schedulinginformation for an uplink or downlink transmission.

In some cases, a single DCI format may be used to transmit differenttypes of control information. For instance, DCI format 1_0 may be usedto transmit control information for scheduling a downlink datatransmission, a paging transmission, a system information transmission,etc. In such cases, some bit fields in a DCI format may not be used(e.g., may be frozen) in a transmission of a certain type of controlinformation. Accordingly, the resources used for the transmission ofthese bit fields may be wasted. Additionally, some bit fields in a DCIformat may include information that a receiving UE 115 may be able todetermine otherwise (i.e., redundant information), leading to resourcesbeing wasted.

As an example, for a transmission of control information for paging,once a UE 115 decodes a DCI message using a paging radio networktemporary identifier (RNTI) (P-RNTI), the UE may determine that the DCImessage includes control information for scheduling a paging message. Insome circumstances, the paging DCI message may contain paging schedulinginformation, based in part on the absence of a short paging message.Further, the presence (or absence) of the short paging message may beindicated via the short message indicator in the paging DCI message.Because a paging message is a downlink message, the UE 115 may be ableto determine that the control information in the DCI is used forscheduling a downlink message. Thus, the bit field in the DCI formatused to indicate whether a transmitted DCI message is used forscheduling a downlink transmission may not be useful to the UE 115(i.e., may be redundant). In addition, because the UE 115 may not berequired to transmit a response to a paging message, bit fields used tospecify configurations for an uplink transmission may not be used.

Wireless communications system 100 may support efficient techniques fordetermining appropriate information to include in bit fields in a DCImessage to limit the underutilization of resources in a controlinformation transmission. Specifically, a base station 105 may determineappropriate information to include in bit fields in a DCI message basedon a type of control information transmitted in the DCI message. As aresult, the information conveyed in the bit fields in a DCI messagetransmitted using a particular DCI format may be related to the controlinformation being transmitted in the DCI message. Further, when a basestation 105 identifies additional control information (e.g., a shortpaging message) to transmit to a UE 115 for a certain type ofcommunication (e.g., paging), the base station may use existing bitfields in a DCI format to transmit the additional control information,rather than introducing new bit fields to the DCI format. For instance,the existing bit fields (e.g., a 2-bit field) in the DCI format (e.g.,DCI format 1_0) may be used to transmit information pertaining to thedifferent paging DCI types. In one example, three (3) types of pagingDCI may be conveyed through the use of the existing bit fields, such asshort paging message, paging scheduling information, and a combinationof short paging message and paging scheduling information. In someexamples, bit fields may further be used to indicate different types ofshort paging messages (e.g., short paging messages of different lengthsor sizes).

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 200that supports multipurpose DCI bit fields in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure. Wireless communications system 200includes base station 105-a and UE 115-a, which may be examples of thecorresponding devices described with reference to FIG. 1. Base station105-a may communicate with UEs 115 (including UE 115-a) within coveragearea 110-a. For example, base station 105-a may communicate with UE115-a on resources of a carrier 205. Wireless communications system 200may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100. In someaspects, wireless communications system 200 may support efficienttechniques for determining appropriate (e.g., minimum) information toinclude in bit fields in a DCI message, in order to limit the amount ofresources wasted in a control information transmission.

In wireless communications system 200, base station 105-a may transmit aDCI message 210 to UE 115-a to configure UE 115-a for communicationswith base station 105-a. As described herein, DCI message 210 mayinclude multipurpose bit fields 215 and other bit fields (e.g., fixedbit fields). Multipurpose bit fields 215 may be used to providedifferent indications to UE 115-a depending on the type of controlinformation transmitted in DCI message 210. Accordingly, as the numberof features supported by wireless communications system 200 increases,and additional control information used to support these features isintroduced, this additional control information may be transmitted usingexisting bit fields instead of new bit fields, which may limit overheadin wireless communications system 200. FIGS. 3-6 illustrate examples ofDCI messages 210 transmitted using a particular DCI format that includesmultipurpose bit fields 215 and other bit fields 220.

In the example of FIG. 3, base station 105-a may transmit DCI message210-a to schedule a downlink data transmission (e.g., in a physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH)) to UE 115-a. Using the techniquesdescribed herein, base station 105-a may determine appropriate fields toinclude in DCI message 210-a based on determining that DCI message 210-ais to be used to transmit control information for scheduling a downlinkdata transmission. In this example, base station 105-a may include anidentifier for DCI formats, a TPC command for scheduled physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH), a PUCCH resource indicator, and a PDSCH-to-HARQfeedback timing indicator in multipurpose bit fields 215. In some cases,base station 105-a may then transmit DCI message 210-a to UE 115-a.

UE 115-a may receive DCI message 210-a, and may determine the type ofcontrol information included in DCI message 210-a (e.g., schedulinginformation for a downlink data transmission). In one example, UE 115-amay determine the type of control information included in DCI message210-a based on the RNTI (e.g., a cell RNTI (C-RNTI)) used to decode DCImessage 210-a. That is, UE 115-a may determine the type of controlinformation included in DCI message 210-a based on the RNTI used tosuccessfully descramble the CRC bits attached to DCI message 210-a. Inanother example, UE 115-a may determine the type of control informationincluded in DCI message 210-a based on the time and/or frequencylocation of resources used to transmit DCI message 210-a.

Once UE 115-a identifies the type of control information included in DCImessage 210-a, UE 115-a may interpret the bit fields in DCI message210-a based on the identification and the RNTI. In this example, UE115-a may determine that the DCI message 210-a includes controlinformation for scheduling a downlink data transmission, and UE 115-amay interpret the multipurpose bit fields 215 based on thisdetermination. In particular, UE 115-a may determine that multipurposebit fields 215 include an identifier for DCI formats, a TPC command forscheduled PUCCH, a PUCCH resource indicator, and a PDSCH-to-HARQfeedback timing indicator. Further, in some cases, the UE 115-a may usethese fields to identify appropriate configurations for receivingdownlink data from base station 105-a, and transmitting feedback to thebase station 105-a. In some examples, the type of control informationincluded in the DCI message comprises paging information, systeminformation, or random access information, and the UE 115-a mayinterpret the at least one bit field in the DCI message as a shortmessage indicator, a system information format indicator or a shortsystem information indicator, or a configuration for Msg3 transmission,respectively. In some cases, the short message indicator may indicatewhether the DCI message comprises a short paging message. In someaspects, the DCI message may comprise paging scheduling information, forinstance, when the RNTI comprises a P-RNTI.

In the example of FIG. 4, base station 105-a may transmit DCI message210-b to UE 115-a including control information for paging. Using thetechniques described herein, base station 105-a may determineappropriate fields to include in DCI message 210-b based on determiningthat DCI message 210-b is to be used to carry control information forpaging. In this example, base station 105-a may include a short messageindicator, and other paging indicators in multipurpose bit fields 215 ofthe DCI message 210-b. The short message indicator may be used toindicate whether the DCI message 210-b includes a short paging messageor scheduling information for an upcoming paging message, and the otherpaging indicators may be used to provide other control informationrelated to paging. In some cases, base station 105-a may then transmitDCI message 210-b to UE 115-a.

UE 115-a may receive DCI message 210-b and may determine the type ofcontrol information included in DCI message 210-b (i.e., controlinformation for paging). In one example, UE 115-a may determine the typeof control information included in DCI message 210-b based on the RNTI(e.g., a paging RNTI (P-RNTI)) used to decode DCI message 210-b. Thatis, UE 115-a may determine the type of control information included inDCI message 210-b based on the RNTI used to successfully descramble theCRC bits attached to DCI message 210-b. In another example, UE 115-a maydetermine the type of control information included in DCI message 210-bbased on the time and/or frequency location of resources used totransmit DCI message 210-b.

In some cases, once UE 115-a identifies the type of control informationincluded in DCI message 210-b, UE 115-a may interpret the bit fields inDCI message 210-b based on the identification. In this example, UE 115-amay determine that DCI message 210-b includes control information forpaging, and UE 115-a may interpret the multipurpose bit fields 215 basedon this determination. In particular, UE 115-a may determine thatmultipurpose bit fields 215 include a short message indicator and otherpaging indicators, and UE 115-a may use these fields to identifyappropriate configurations for receiving a downlink paging message frombase station 105-a. For instance, the multipurpose bit fields 215 (e.g.,a 2-bit field) in the DCI format (e.g., DCI format 1_0) may be used totransmit information pertaining to the different paging DCI messagetypes. In one example, DCI message 210-b may be one of three (3) typesof paging DCI. Further, the type of paging DCI may be conveyed throughthe use of an existing bit field. In some cases, the three types ofpaging DCI may include short paging message, paging schedulinginformation, and a combination of short paging message and pagingscheduling information. In some examples, a two (2) bit field mayfurther be used to indicate different types of short paging messages(e.g., short paging messages of different lengths or sizes). Forinstance, 00 may indicate “Reserved” in the paging DCI, 01 may indicatethe paging DCI is associated with paging scheduling information, 10 mayindicate a short paging message (e.g., a 40-bit short paging message),and 11 may indicate both paging scheduling, and short paging messages(e.g., a 10-bit short paging message).

In the example of FIG. 5, base station 105-a may transmit DCI message210-c to UE 115-a including control information for a system informationtransmission. Using the techniques described herein, base station 105-amay determine appropriate fields to include in DCI message 210-c basedon determining that DCI message 210-c is to be used to carry controlinformation for a system information transmission. In this example, basestation 105-a may include a system information format indicator, a shortsystem information indicator, and other system information indicators inmultipurpose bit fields 215 of the DCI message 210-c. In some cases, thesystem information format indicator may indicate whether a scheduledsystem information transmission includes remaining minimum systeminformation (RMSI) or other system information (OSI); the short systeminformation indicator may indicate whether the DCI message 210-cincludes a short system information message or scheduling information anupcoming system information transmission; and the other systeminformation indicators may be used to provide other control informationrelated to a system information transmission. Base station 105-a maythen transmit DCI message 210-c to UE 115-a.

UE 115-a may receive DCI message 210-c and may determine the type ofcontrol information included in DCI message 210-c (i.e., controlinformation for a system information transmission). In one example, UE115-a may determine the type of control information included in DCImessage 210-c based on the RNTI (e.g., a system information RNTI(SI-RNTI)) used to decode DCI message 210-c. That is, UE 115-a maydetermine the type of control information included in DCI message 210-cbased on the RNTI used to successfully descramble the CRC bits attachedto DCI message 210-c. In another example, UE 115-a may determine thetype of control information included in DCI message 210-c based on thetime and/or frequency location of resources used to transmit DCI message210-c.

Once UE 115-a identifies the type of control information included in DCImessage 210-c, the UE 115-a may interpret the bit fields in DCI message210-c based on the identification. In this example, UE 115-a maydetermine that DCI message 210-c includes control information for asystem information transmission, and UE 115-a may interpret themultipurpose bit fields 215 based on this determination. In particular,UE 115-a may determine that multipurpose bit fields 215 include a systeminformation format indicator, a short system information indicator, andother system information indicators, and UE 115-a may use these fieldsto identify appropriate configurations for receiving a downlink systeminformation transmission from base station 105-a.

In the example of FIG. 6, base station 105-a may transmit DCI message210-d to UE 115-a, which may include control information for a randomaccess message (e.g., a random access response (RAR) message). Using thetechniques described herein, the base station 105-a may determineappropriate fields to include in the DCI message 210-d, for instance,based on determining that DCI message 210-d carries control informationfor a random access message. In this example, base station 105-a mayinclude an indication of a configuration for a Message 3 (Msg3)transmission, a TPC command for scheduled PUCCH, a PUCCH resourceindicator, and at least one other random access indicator inmultipurpose bit fields 215 of the DCI message 210-d.

In some examples, the configuration for the Msg3 transmission mayindicate whether UE 115-a should include a beam report including a beamindex in the Msg3 transmission (e.g., to allow base station 105-a toidentify an appropriate beam for communicating with UE 115-a), where thebeam index corresponds to a synchronization signal block index, or achannel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) index. In otherexamples, the configuration may indicate whether the UE 115-a shouldtransmit Msg3 on primary uplink resources (e.g., on resources of apaired carrier), or on supplementary uplink resources (e.g., onresources of an unpaired carrier). In some aspects, the TPC command forscheduled PUCCH may indicate a transmit power for a Msg3 transmission,whereas the PUCCH resource indicator may indicate resources for a Msg3transmission. Further, in some cases, the other random access indicatormay be used to provide other control information related to a randomaccess procedure to the UE 115-a.

In some cases, UE 115-a may receive DCI message 210-d transmitted fromthe base station 105-a, and may determine the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message 210-d (i.e., control informationfor a random access message). In one example, UE 115-a may determine thetype of control information included in DCI message 210-d based on theRNTI (e.g., a random access RNTI (RA-RNTI)) used to decode DCI message210-d. That is, UE 115-a may determine the type of control informationincluded in DCI message 210-d based on the RNTI used to successfullydescramble the CRC bits attached to DCI message 210-d. In anotherexample, UE 115-a may determine the type of control information includedin DCI message 210-d based on the time and/or frequency location ofresources used to transmit DCI message 210-d.

In some circumstances, the UE 115-a may identify the type of controlinformation included in DCI message 210-d, and may interpret the bitfields in DCI message 210-d based in part on the identification. In thisexample, UE 115-a may determine that DCI message 210-d includes controlinformation for a random access message, and the UE 115-a may interpretthe multipurpose bit fields 215 based on this determination. Inparticular, UE 115-a may determine that multipurpose bit fields 215include an indication of a configuration for a Msg3 transmission, a TPCcommand for scheduled PUCCH, a PUCCH resource indicator, and anotherrandom access indicator. Further, the UE 115-a may use these fields toidentify appropriate configurations for receiving a random accessmessage from base station 105-a, and transmitting a Msg3 to base station105-a.

In the examples of FIGS. 3-6, base station 105-a may use the other bitfields 220 to provide the same information for DCI messages carryingdifferent types of information. Specifically, because the informationprovided by the other bit fields 220 may be useful for different typesof control information, it may be appropriate for base station 105-a toinclude this information in all DCI messages carrying the differenttypes of control information. In some cases, however, the other bitfields illustrated in FIGS. 3-6 may be used as multipurpose bit fieldsif these bit fields are not being used in a transmission of a certaintype of control information. For example, for a transmission of pagingcontrol information using DCI format 1_0, the new data indicator field,redundancy version field, and the HARQ process number field may not beused (e.g., may be frozen). Thus, in some aspects, these fields may beused to carry control information related to paging (e.g., other pagingcontrol information).

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a process flow 700 in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure. Process flow 700 illustratesaspects of techniques performed by a base station 105-b, which may be anexample of a base station described with reference to FIGS. 1-6. Processflow 700 also illustrates aspects of techniques performed by a UE 115-b,which may be an example of a UE described with reference to FIGS. 1-6.

At 705, base station 105-b may identify a first type of controlinformation to transmit to UE 115-b in a DCI message. Base station 105-bmay then generate the DCI message for transmitting the first type ofcontrol information, and, at 710, base station 105-b may transmit theDCI message to UE 115-b. As described with reference to FIGS. 3-6, basestation 105-b may use at least one bit field in the DCI message toprovide an indication corresponding to the first type of controlinformation, where the indication provided by the at least one bit fieldmay be different from an indication provided by a respective bit fieldin another DCI message for a second type of control information.

At 710, UE 115-b may then receive and decode the DCI message. At 715, UE115-b may determine a type of control information included in the DCImessage based at least in part on the RNTI. In one example, UE 115-b mayidentify the RNTI used to successfully descramble the CRC bits attachedto the DCI message, and the UE 115-b may determine the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message based on the identified RNTI(e.g., based on whether the RNTI is a channel-dependent RNTI, such as aP-RNTI, SI-RNTI, or an RA-RNTI; or based on whether the RNTI is aUE-dependent RNTI, such as a C-RNTI). In another example, UE 115-b maydetermine the time and/or frequency location of resources used totransmit the DCI message, and UE 115-b may determine the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message based on this determination.

At 720, UE 115-b may then interpret the bit fields in the DCI messagebased on determining the type of control information included in the DCImessage (i.e., the first type of control information as describedabove). For instance, UE 115-b may interpret a bit field in the DCImessage as a first indication if UE 115-b determines that the DCImessage includes a first type of control information (e.g., based ondetermining that a first RNTI was used to successfully descramble theCRC bits of the DCI message), and UE 115-b may interpret the bit fieldin the DCI message as a second indication if UE 115-b determines thatthe DCI message includes a second type of information (e.g., based ondetermining that a second RNTI was used to successfully descramble theCRC bits of the DCI message). Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 3-6, thesame bit field in DCI messages transmitted using a particular DCI formatmay be interpreted differently based on the type of control informationincluded in the DCI messages.

As described with reference to FIG. 3, a base station may transmitcontrol information for scheduling a downlink data transmission in a DCImessage, and one or more bit fields in the DCI message (i.e., themultipurpose bit fields) may be interpreted based on the DCI messageincluding control information for scheduling a downlink datatransmission. As described with reference to FIG. 4, a base station maytransmit control information for paging in a DCI message, and one ormore bit fields in the DCI message (i.e., the multipurpose bit fields)may be interpreted based on the DCI message including controlinformation for paging. As described with reference to FIG. 5, a basestation may transmit control information for a system informationtransmission in a DCI message, and one or more bit fields in the DCImessage (i.e., the multipurpose bit fields) may be interpreted based onthe DCI message including control information for the system informationtransmission. As described with reference to FIG. 6, a base station maytransmit control information for a random access transmission in a DCImessage, and one or more bit fields in the DCI message (i.e., themultipurpose bit fields) may be interpreted based on the DCI messageincluding control information for the random access transmission.

Once UE 115-b interprets the bit fields in the DCI message, UE 115-b maythen process the bit fields in the DCI message based on theinterpretation. In some circumstances, as part of the processing, the UE115-b may determine an uplink or downlink transmission configuration forcommunicating with the base station 105-b based at least in part oninterpreting the at least one bit field in the DCI message. In oneexample, UE 115-b may communicate with base station 105-b based on thecontrol information received in the DCI message. For instance, at 725,UE 115-b may receive data (e.g., a paging message, a system informationmessage, a random access message, or other data) from base station 105-bbased on the control information, and, at 730, UE 115-b may transmituplink control information to base station 105-b based on the DCImessage and the data received at 725. In another example, UE 115-b mayavoid communicating with base station 105-b (e.g., by transitioning to asleep mode) based on the control information received in the DCImessage.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a wireless device 805 that supportsmultipurpose DCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. Wireless device 805 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115as described herein. Wireless device 805 may include receiver 810, UEcommunications manager 815, and transmitter 820. Wireless device 805 mayalso include a processor. Each of these components may be incommunication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 810 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to multipurposeDCI bit fields, etc.). Information may be passed on to other componentsof the device. The receiver 810 may be an example of aspects of thetransceiver 1135 described with reference to FIG. 11. The receiver 810may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

UE communications manager 815 may be an example of aspects of the UEcommunications manager 1115 described with reference to FIG. 11. UEcommunications manager 815 and/or at least some of its varioussub-components may be implemented in hardware, software executed by aprocessor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented insoftware executed by a processor, the functions of the UE communicationsmanager 815 and/or at least some of its various sub-components may beexecuted by a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), anfield-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described in thepresent disclosure.

The UE communications manager 815 and/or at least some of its varioussub-components may be physically located at various positions, includingbeing distributed such that portions of functions are implemented atdifferent physical locations by one or more physical devices. In someexamples, UE communications manager 815 and/or at least some of itsvarious sub-components may be a separate and distinct component inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In otherexamples, UE communications manager 815 and/or at least some of itsvarious sub-components may be combined with one or more other hardwarecomponents, including but not limited to an I/O component, atransceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or moreother components described in the present disclosure, or a combinationthereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

UE communications manager 815 may monitor a control channel for DCI froma base station, identify a DCI message in the control channelcorresponding to an RNTI, determine a type of control informationincluded in the DCI message based on the RNTI, interpret at least onebit field in the DCI message based on the type of control informationincluded in the DCI message, and process the at least one bit field inthe DCI message based on the interpreting. In some circumstances, aspart of the processing, UE communications manager 815 may determine anuplink or downlink transmission configuration for communicating with thebase station based at least in part on interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message.

Transmitter 820 may transmit signals generated by other components ofthe device. In some examples, the transmitter 820 may be collocated witha receiver 810 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 820may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1135 described withreference to FIG. 11. The transmitter 820 may utilize a single antennaor a set of antennas.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a wireless device 905 that supportsmultipurpose DCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. Wireless device 905 may be an example of aspects of awireless device 805 or a UE 115 as described with reference to FIG. 8.Wireless device 905 may include receiver 910, UE communications manager915, and transmitter 920. Wireless device 905 may also include aprocessor. Each of these components may be in communication with oneanother (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 910 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to multipurposeDCI bit fields, etc.). Information may be passed on to other componentsof the device. The receiver 910 may be an example of aspects of thetransceiver 1135 described with reference to FIG. 11. The receiver 910may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

UE communications manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the UEcommunications manager 1115 described with reference to FIG. 11. UEcommunications manager 915 may include control channel manager 925, DCImanager 930, and DCI processor 935. Control channel manager 925 maymonitor a control channel for DCI from a base station. DCI manager 930may identify a DCI message in the control channel corresponding to anRNTI, determine a type of control information included in the DCImessage based on the RNTI, and interpret at least one bit field in theDCI message based on the type of control information included in the DCImessage and the RNTI. DCI processor 935 may then process the at leastone bit field in the DCI message based on the interpreting. In someexamples, the UE communications manager 915 may determine an uplink ordownlink transmission configuration for communicating with the basestation based at least in part on interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message.

Transmitter 920 may transmit signals generated by other components ofthe device. In some examples, the transmitter 920 may be collocated witha receiver 910 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 920may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1135 described withreference to FIG. 11. The transmitter 920 may utilize a single antennaor a set of antennas.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a UE communications manager 1015that supports multipurpose DCI bit fields in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. The UE communications manager 1015 may be anexample of aspects of a UE communications manager 815, a UEcommunications manager 915, or a UE communications manager 1115described with reference to FIGS. 8, 9, and 11. The UE communicationsmanager 1015 may include control channel manager 1020, DCI manager 1025,and DCI processor 1045. DCI manager 1025 may include paging DCI manager1030, system information DCI manager 1035, and random access DCI manager1040. Each of these modules may communicate, directly or indirectly,with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

Control channel manager 1020 may monitor a control channel for DCI froma base station. DCI manager 1025 may then identify a DCI message in thecontrol channel corresponding to an RNTI and determine a type of controlinformation included in the DCI message based on the RNTI. In somecases, the RNTI corresponding to the DCI message is the RNTI used tosuccessfully descramble CRC bits attached to the DCI message.Additionally, in some cases, DCI manager 1025 may identify resourcesused to transmit the DCI message and determine the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message based on the resources used totransmit the DCI message.

Once DCI manager 1025 determines the type of control informationincluded in the DCI message based at least in part on the RNTI, the DCImanager 1025 may then interpret the at least one bit field in the DCImessage based on the type of control information included in the DCImessage and the RNTI. In some cases, interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message includes interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message as a first indication when the RNTI includes afirst RNTI, and interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCImessage as a second indication when the RNTI includes a second RNTI thatis different from the first RNTI. In some cases, the at least one bitfield in the DCI message provides a different indication from arespective bit field in another DCI message including another type ofcontrol information. After DCI manager 1025 interprets the at least onebit field in the DCI message, DCI processor 1045 may then use thisinformation to process the at least one bit field in the DCI messagebased on the interpreting. In some examples, the processing may comprisedetermining an uplink or downlink transmission configuration forcommunicating with the base station based at least in part oninterpreting the at least one bit field in the DCI message.

In some cases, the type of control information included in the DCImessage includes a grant (or a configuration for at least one of anuplink or downlink transmission), paging information, systeminformation, random access information, a short paging message, pagingPDSCH scheduling information, or a combination thereof. In some cases,if the type of information includes a grant, DCI manager 1025 mayinterpret the at least one bit field in the DCI message as a DCI formatidentifier, TPC command for scheduled PUCCH, a PUCCH resource indicator,a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator, a new data indicator, aredundancy version indicator, or a HARQ process number. In such cases,the RNTI includes a C-RNTI.

In some cases, the type of control information included in the DCImessage includes paging information, and paging DCI manager 1030 mayinterpret the at least one bit field in the DCI message as a shortmessage indicator. The short message indicator may indicate whether ashort paging message is included in the DCI message, where the shortpaging message may be used to provide a system information modification,a commercial mobile alert system (CMAS) indication, or an earthquake andtsunami warning system (ETWS) indication. In some cases, the paging DCImessage may comprise paging scheduling information, for instance, whenthe short paging message is absent. In such examples, the RNTI includesa P-RNTI. In some cases, the type of control information included in theDCI message includes system information, and system information DCImanager 1035 may interpret the at least one bit field in the DCI messageas a system information format indicator or a short system informationindicator. In such cases, the RNTI includes an SI-RNTI.

In some cases, the type of control information included in the DCImessage includes random access information, and random access DCImanager 1040 may interpret the at least one bit field in the DCI messageas a configuration for a Msg3 transmission. In such cases, the RNTIincludes an RA-RNTI. In some cases, the configuration for the Msg3transmission indicates whether to include a beam index in the Msg3transmission. The beam index may correspond to a synchronization signalblock index or a CSI-RS index. In other cases, the configuration for theMsg3 transmission indicates whether to include a CSI-RS report in theMsg3 transmission.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 thatsupports multipurpose DCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure. Device 1105 may be an example of or include thecomponents of wireless device 805, wireless device 905, or a UE 115 asdescribed above, e.g., with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. Device 1105 mayinclude components for bi-directional voice and data communicationsincluding components for transmitting and receiving communications,including UE communications manager 1115, processor 1120, memory 1125,software 1130, transceiver 1135, antenna 1140, and I/O controller 1145.These components may be in electronic communication via one or morebuses (e.g., bus 1110). Device 1105 may communicate wirelessly with oneor more base stations 105.

Memory 1125 may include random access memory (RAM) and read only memory(ROM). The memory 1125 may store computer-readable, computer-executablesoftware 1130 including instructions that, when executed, cause theprocessor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases,the memory 1125 may contain, among other things, a basic input/outputsystem (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operationsuch as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Software 1130 may include code to implement aspects of the presentdisclosure, including code to support multipurpose DCI bit fields.Software 1130 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable mediumsuch as system memory or other memory. In some cases, the software 1130may not be directly executable by the processor but may cause a computer(e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions describedherein.

Transceiver 1135 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or moreantennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, thetransceiver 1135 may represent a wireless transceiver and maycommunicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. Thetransceiver 1135 may also include a modem to modulate the packets andprovide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and todemodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1140.However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 1140,which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiplewireless transmissions.

I/O controller 1145 may manage input and output signals for device 1105.I/O controller 1145 may also manage peripherals not integrated intodevice 1105. In some cases, I/O controller 1145 may represent a physicalconnection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, I/Ocontroller 1145 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®,MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operatingsystem. In other cases, I/O controller 1145 may represent or interactwith a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device.In some cases, I/O controller 1145 may be implemented as part of aprocessor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 1105 via I/Ocontroller 1145 or via hardware components controlled by I/O controller1145.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram 1200 of a wireless device 1205 thatsupports multipurpose DCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure. Wireless device 1205 may be an example of aspects ofa base station 105 as described herein. Wireless device 1205 may includereceiver 1210, base station communications manager 1215, and transmitter1220. Wireless device 1205 may also include a processor. Each of thesecomponents may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one ormore buses).

Receiver 1210 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to multipurposeDCI bit fields, etc.). Information may be passed on to other componentsof the device. The receiver 1210 may be an example of aspects of thetransceiver 1535 described with reference to FIG. 15. The receiver 1210may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Base station communications manager 1215 may be an example of aspects ofthe base station communications manager 1515 described with reference toFIG. 15. Base station communications manager 1215 and/or at least someof its various sub-components may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions of thebase station communications manager 1215 and/or at least some of itsvarious sub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, aDSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gateor transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described in the presentdisclosure.

The base station communications manager 1215 and/or at least some of itsvarious sub-components may be physically located at various positions,including being distributed such that portions of functions areimplemented at different physical locations by one or more physicaldevices. In some examples, base station communications manager 1215and/or at least some of its various sub-components may be a separate anddistinct component in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. In other examples, base station communications manager 1215and/or at least some of its various sub-components may be combined withone or more other hardware components, including but not limited to anI/O component, a transceiver, a network server, another computingdevice, one or more other components described in the presentdisclosure, or a combination thereof in accordance with various aspectsof the present disclosure.

Base station communications manager 1215 may identify, at a basestation, a first type of control information to transmit to a UE in aDCI message, generate the DCI message for transmitting the first type ofcontrol information, and utilize at least one bit field in the DCImessage to provide an indication corresponding to the first type ofcontrol information, where the indication provided by the at least onebit field is different from an indication provided by a respective bitfield in another DCI message for a second type of control information.Base station communications manager 1215 may then coordinate withtransmitter 1220 to transmit the DCI message to the UE, where the DCImessage includes an uplink or downlink transmission configuration forcommunicating with the base station, based at least in part on the atleast one bit field in the DCI message.

Transmitter 1220 may transmit signals generated by other components ofthe device. In some examples, the transmitter 1220 may be collocatedwith a receiver 1210 in a transceiver module. For example, thetransmitter 1220 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1535described with reference to FIG. 15. The transmitter 1220 may utilize asingle antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram 1300 of a wireless device 1305 thatsupports multipurpose DCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure. Wireless device 1305 may be an example of aspects ofa wireless device 1205 or a base station 105 as described with referenceto FIG. 12. Wireless device 1305 may include receiver 1310, base stationcommunications manager 1315, and transmitter 1320. Wireless device 1305may also include a processor. Each of these components may be incommunication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 1310 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to multipurposeDCI bit fields, etc.). Information may be passed on to other componentsof the device. The receiver 1310 may be an example of aspects of thetransceiver 1535 described with reference to FIG. 15. The receiver 1310may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Base station communications manager 1315 may be an example of aspects ofthe base station communications manager 1515 described with reference toFIG. 15. Base station communications manager 1315 may include DCImanager 1325 and DCI generator 1330.

DCI manager 1325 may identify, at a base station, a first type ofcontrol information to transmit to a UE in a DCI message. DCI generator1330 may then generate the DCI message for transmitting the first typeof control information and utilize at least one bit field in the DCImessage to provide an indication corresponding to the first type ofcontrol information, where the indication provided by the at least onebit field is different from an indication provided by a respective bitfield in another DCI message for a second type of control information.Base station communications manager 1315 may then coordinate withtransmitter 1320 to transmit the DCI message to the UE, where the DCImessage includes an uplink or downlink transmission configuration forcommunicating with the base station, based at least in part on the atleast one bit field in the DCI message.

Transmitter 1320 may transmit signals generated by other components ofthe device. In some examples, the transmitter 1320 may be collocatedwith a receiver 1310 in a transceiver module. For example, thetransmitter 1320 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1535described with reference to FIG. 15. The transmitter 1320 may utilize asingle antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 14 shows a block diagram 1400 of a base station communicationsmanager 1415 that supports multipurpose DCI bit fields in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. The base station communicationsmanager 1415 may be an example of aspects of a base stationcommunications manager 1515 described with reference to FIGS. 12, 13,and 15. The base station communications manager 1415 may include DCImanager 1420 and DCI generator 1440. DCI manager 1420 may include pagingDCI manager 1425, system information DCI manager 1430, and random accessDCI manager 1435. Each of these modules may communicate, directly orindirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

DCI manager 1420 may identify a first type of control information totransmit to a UE in a DCI message. DCI generator 1440 may then generatethe DCI message for transmitting the first type of control informationand utilize at least one bit field in the DCI message to provide anindication corresponding to the first type of control information, wherethe indication provided by the at least one bit field is different froman indication provided by a respective bit field in another DCI messagefor a second type of control information.

In some cases, the first type of control information includes a grant,and utilizing the at least one bit field in the DCI message to providean indication corresponding to the first type of control informationincludes utilizing the at least one bit field in the DCI message as aDCI format identifier, a TPC command for scheduled PUCCH, a PUCCHresource indicator, a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator, a newdata indicator, a redundancy version indicator, or a HARQ processnumber. In such cases, CRC bits of the DCI message may be scrambledusing a C-RNTI.

In some cases, the first type of control information includes paginginformation, and paging DCI manager 1425 may utilize the at least onebit field in the DCI message as a short message indicator. In suchcases, CRC bits of the DCI message may be scrambled using a P-RNTI. Insome cases, the short message indicator indicates whether the DCImessage comprises a short paging message. In some cases, the DCI messagemay also contain paging scheduling information. In some cases, the firsttype of control information includes system information, and systeminformation DCI manager 1430 may utilize the at least one bit field inthe DCI message as a system information format indicator or a shortsystem information indicator. In such cases, CRC bits of the DCI messagemay be scrambled using a SI-RNTI.

In some cases, the first type of control information includes randomaccess information, and random access DCI manager 1435 may utilize theat least one bit field in the DCI message to indicate a configurationfor a Msg3 transmission. In such cases, CRC bits of the DCI message maybe scrambled using a RA-RNTI. In some cases, the configuration for theMsg3 transmission indicates whether the UE should transmit a beam indexin the Msg3 transmission. In some cases, the beam index corresponds to asynchronization signal block index or a CSI-RS index.

FIG. 15 shows a diagram of a system 1500 including a device 1505 thatsupports multipurpose DCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure. Device 1505 may be an example of or include thecomponents of base station 105 as described above, e.g., with referenceto FIG. 1. Device 1505 may include components for bi-directional voiceand data communications including components for transmitting andreceiving communications, including base station communications manager1515, processor 1520, memory 1525, software 1530, transceiver 1535,antenna 1540, network communications manager 1545, and inter-stationcommunications manager 1550. These components may be in electroniccommunication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1510). Device 1505 maycommunicate wirelessly with one or more UEs 115.

Processor 1520 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), amicrocontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, adiscrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardwarecomponent, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1520may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller.In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor1520. Processor 1520 may be configured to execute computer-readableinstructions stored in a memory to perform various functions (e.g.,functions or tasks supporting multipurpose DCI bit fields).

Memory 1525 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 1525 may storecomputer-readable, computer-executable software 1530 includinginstructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform variousfunctions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1525 may contain,among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or softwareoperation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Software 1530 may include code to implement aspects of the presentdisclosure, including code to support multipurpose DCI bit fields.Software 1530 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable mediumsuch as system memory or other memory. In some cases, the software 1530may not be directly executable by the processor but may cause a computer(e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions describedherein.

Transceiver 1535 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or moreantennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, thetransceiver 1535 may represent a wireless transceiver and maycommunicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. Thetransceiver 1535 may also include a modem to modulate the packets andprovide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and todemodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1540.However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 1540,which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiplewireless transmissions.

Network communications manager 1545 may manage communications with thecore network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example,the network communications manager 1545 may manage the transfer of datacommunications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115.

Inter-station communications manager 1550 may manage communications withother base station 105, and may include a controller or scheduler forcontrolling communications with UEs 115 in cooperation with other basestations 105. For example, the inter-station communications manager 1550may coordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs 115 for variousinterference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or jointtransmission. In some examples, inter-station communications manager1550 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wirelesscommunication network technology to provide communication between basestations 105.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1600 for multipurposeDCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Theoperations of method 1600 may be implemented by a UE 115 or itscomponents as described herein. For example, the operations of method1600 may be performed by a UE communications manager as described withreference to FIGS. 8 through 11. In some examples, a UE 115 may executea set of codes to control the functional elements of the device toperform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively,the UE 115 may perform aspects of the functions described below usingspecial-purpose hardware.

At 1605, the UE 115 may monitor a control channel for DCI from a basestation. The operations of 1605 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In certain examples, aspects of the operationsof 1605 may be performed by a control channel manager as described withreference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1610, the UE 115 may identify a DCI message in the control channelcorresponding to an RNTI. The operations of 1610 may be performedaccording to the methods described herein. In certain examples, aspectsof the operations of 1610 may be performed by a DCI manager as describedwith reference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1615, the UE 115 may interpret at least one bit field in the DCImessage based at least in part on the type of control informationincluded in the DCI message and the RNTI. For instance, the UE 115 mayinterpret at least one bit field in the DCI message as a short messageindicator, if the type of control information includes paginginformation. In some other cases, the UE 115 may interpret at least onebit field in the DCI message as a system information format indicator ora short system information indicator, or as a configuration for a Msg 3transmission. In some cases, the configuration for the Msg3 transmissionmay indicate whether to include a beam index in the Msg3 transmission,where the beam index corresponds to a synchronization signal block indexor a CSI-RS index. The operations of 1615 may be performed according tothe methods described herein. In certain examples, aspects of theoperations of 1615 may be performed by a DCI manager as described withreference to FIGS. 8 through 11.

At 1620, the UE 115 may determine an uplink or downlink transmissionconfiguration for communicating with the base station based at least inpart on interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCI message. Theoperations of 1625 may be performed according to the methods describedherein. In certain examples, aspects of the operations of 1625 may beperformed by a processor as described with reference to FIGS. 8 through11.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1700 for multipurposeDCI bit fields in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Theoperations of method 1700 may be implemented by a base station 105 orits components as described herein. For example, the operations ofmethod 1700 may be performed by a base station communications manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 12 through 15. In some examples, abase station 105 may execute a set of codes to control the functionalelements of the device to perform the functions described below.Additionally or alternatively, the base station 105 may perform aspectsof the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At 1705, the base station 105 may identify a first type of controlinformation to transmit to a UE in a DCI message, where the first typeof control information may comprise at least one of paging information,system information, random access information, and a grant. Theoperations of 1705 may be performed according to the methods describedherein. In certain examples, aspects of the operations of 1705 may beperformed by a DCI manager as described with reference to FIGS. 12through 15.

At 1710, the base station 105 may generate the DCI message fortransmitting the first type of control information. The operations of1710 may be performed according to the methods described herein. Incertain examples, aspects of the operations of 1710 may be performed bya DCI generator as described with reference to FIGS. 12 through 15.

At 1715, the base station 105 may utilize at least one bit field in theDCI message to provide an indication corresponding to the first type ofcontrol information, wherein the indication provided by the at least onebit field is different from an indication provided by a respective bitfield in another DCI message for a second type of control information.In some examples, the base station 105 may utilize the at least one bitfield in the DCI message as a short message indicator, a systeminformation format indicator or a short system information indicator, orto indicate a configuration for a Msg3 transmission. In some cases, theconfiguration of the Msg3 transmission may indicate whether the UEshould transmit a beam index in the Msg3 transmission, where the beamindex corresponds to a synchronization signal block index or a CSI-RSindex. In some other cases, utilizing the at least one bit field in theDCI message may comprise utilizing the at least one bit field in the DCImessage as a DCI format identifier, a TPC command for scheduled PUCCH, aPUCCH resource indicator, a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicator, anew data indicator, a redundancy version indicator, or a HARQ processnumber. The operations of 1715 may be performed according to the methodsdescribed herein. In certain examples, aspects of the operations of 1715may be performed by a DCI generator as described with reference to FIGS.12 through 15.

At 1720, the base station 105 may transmit the DCI message to the UE,where the DCI message includes an uplink or downlink transmissionconfiguration for communicating with the base station, based at least inpart on the at least one bit field in the DCI message. The operations of1720 may be performed according to the methods described herein. Incertain examples, aspects of the operations of 1720 may be performed bya transmitter as described with reference to FIGS. 12 through 15.

It should be noted that the methods described above describe possibleimplementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearrangedor otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

Techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunications systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA),time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access(FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), singlecarrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems.A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000,Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000,IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Releases may be commonly referredto as CDMA2000 1×, 1×, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to asCDMA2000 1×EV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includesWideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA system mayimplement a radio technology such as Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM).

An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra MobileBroadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A, and LTE-A Pro are releasesof UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR,and GSM are described in documents from the organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are describedin documents from an organization named “3rd Generation PartnershipProject 2” (3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used for thesystems and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other systemsand radio technologies. While aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NRsystem may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, thetechniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro,or NR applications.

A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g.,several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs115 with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cellmay be associated with a lower-powered base station 105, as comparedwith a macro cell, and a small cell may operate in the same or different(e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cellsmay include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells according tovarious examples. A pico cell, for example, may cover a small geographicarea and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 115 with servicesubscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell may also cover asmall geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted accessby UEs 115 having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs 115 in aclosed subscriber group (CSG), UEs 115 for users in the home, and thelike). An eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNBfor a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, afemto eNB, or a home eNB. An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two,three, four, and the like) cells, and may also support communicationsusing one or multiple component carriers.

The wireless communications system 100 or systems described herein maysupport synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronousoperation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, andtransmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximatelyaligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 mayhave different frame timing, and transmissions from different basestations 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described hereinmay be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any ofa variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsthat may be referenced throughout the above description may berepresented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magneticfields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combinationthereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection withthe disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to thenature of software, functions described above can be implemented usingsoftware executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storagemedia and communication media including any medium that facilitatestransfer of a computer program from one place to another. Anon-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media maycomprise random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM),electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othernon-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired programcode means in the form of instructions or data structures and that canbe accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or ageneral-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection isproperly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the softwareis transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using acoaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line(DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave,then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, orwireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD),floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above are also included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items(e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or“one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, alist of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BCor ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “basedon” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions.For example, an exemplary step that is described as “based on conditionA” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, asused herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manneras the phrase “based at least in part on.”

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label, or othersubsequent reference label.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appendeddrawings, describes example configurations and does not represent allthe examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of theclaims. The term “exemplary” used herein means “serving as an example,instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous overother examples.” The detailed description includes specific details forthe purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques.These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shownin block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of thedescribed examples.

The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the artto make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosurewill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the genericprinciples defined herein may be applied to other variations withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is notlimited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to beaccorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:monitoring a control channel for downlink control information (DCI) froma base station; identifying a DCI message in the control channelcorresponding to a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) used tosuccessfully descramble cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits attached tothe DCI message, the DCI message having a DCI format; interpreting atleast one bit field in the DCI message based at least in part on theRNTI, wherein interpreting the at least one bit field of the DCI messageof the DCI format comprise interpreting the at least one bit field inthe DCI message as a first indication when the RNTI comprises a firstRNTI and interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCI message as asecond indication when the RNTI comprises a second RNTI that isdifferent from the first RNTI, wherein the first RNTI comprises a pagingRNTI (P-RNTI) and the first indication comprises a short messageindicator; and communicating with the base station based at least inpart on interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCI message. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining the type ofcontrol information included in the DCI message based at least in parton the RNTI, wherein interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCImessage comprises interpreting based on the determining the type ofcontrol information.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the type ofcontrol information included in the DCI message comprises pagingscheduling information when the RNTI comprises the P-RNTI.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the short message indicator indicates whether theDCI message comprises a short paging message.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the second RNTI comprises a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI)and the second indication comprises a system information formatindicator or a short system information indicator.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the second RNTI comprises a cell RNTI (C-RNTI) and thesecond indication comprises a configuration for at least one of anuplink or downlink transmission, a DCI format identifier, a transmitpower control (TPC) command for scheduled physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH), a PUCCH resource indicator, a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH) to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedbacktiming indicator, a new data indicator, a redundancy version indicator,or a HARQ process number.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondRNTI comprises a random access RNTI (RA-RNTI) and the second indicationcomprises a configuration for a Message 3 (Msg3) transmission.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the configuration for the Msg3 transmissionindicates whether to include a beam index in the Msg3 transmission. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the beam index corresponds to asynchronization signal block index or a channel state informationreference signal (CSI-RS) index.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein theRNTI comprise the P-RNTI, and the first indication comprises the shortmessage indicator.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the DCI messagecomprises a first DCI message, the method further comprising:identifying a second DCI message in the control channel corresponding tothe second RNTI; and interpreting the at least one bit field in thesecond DCI message as the second indication.
 12. The method of claim 11,further comprising: determining a first type of control informationincluded in the first DCI message based at least in part on the P-RNTI,wherein the first type of control information comprises paginginformation, wherein the paging information included in the first DCImessage comprises one or more of the short message indicator, a shortpaging message or downlink paging scheduling information; anddetermining a second type of control information included in the secondDCI message based at least in part on the second RNTI.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein one or more of: the second RNTI comprises a systeminformation RNTI (SI-RNTI) and the second indication comprises a systeminformation format indicator or a short system information indicator;the second RNTI comprises a cell RNTI (C-RNTI) and the second indicationcomprises a configuration for at least one of an uplink or downlinktransmission, a DCI format identifier, a transmit power control (TPC)command for scheduled physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a PUCCHresource indicator, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback timing indicator, a new dataindicator, a redundancy version indicator, or a HARQ process number; orthe second RNTI comprises a random access RNTI (RA-RNTI) and the secondindication comprises a configuration for a Message 3 (Msg3)transmission.
 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising determiningthe type of control information included in the DCI message based atleast in part on the RNTI, wherein determining the type of controlinformation included in the DCI message further comprises: identifyingresources used to transmit the DCI message; and determining the type ofcontrol information included in the DCI message based at least in parton the resources used to transmit the DCI message.
 15. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one bit field in the DCI message providesa different indication from a respective bit field in another DCImessage of a same DCI format as the DCI format including another type ofcontrol information.
 16. A method for wireless communication,comprising: identifying, at a base station, a first type of controlinformation to transmit to a user equipment (UE) in a downlink controlinformation (DCI) message having a DCI format; generating the DCImessage for transmitting the first type of control information;utilizing at least one bit field in the DCI message to provide anindication corresponding to the first type of control information,wherein the indication provided by the at least one bit field isdifferent from an indication provided by a respective bit field inanother DCI message having the DCI format for a second type of controlinformation; and transmitting the DCI message to the UE and scramblingcyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits attached to the DCI message using aradio network temporary identifier (RNTI) corresponding to the firsttype of control information, wherein the indication of the at least onebit field comprises a first indication and the RNTI comprises a firstRNTI when the first type of control information is identified and theindication comprises a second indication and the RNTI comprises a secondRNTI when the second type of control information is identified, andwherein the first type of control information comprises paginginformation and the first RNTI comprise the paging RNTI, and whereinutilizing the at least one bit field in the DCI message to provide anindication corresponding to the first type of control informationcomprises utilizing the at least one bit field in the DCI message as ashort message indicator.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the shortmessage indicator indicates whether the DCI message comprises a shortpaging message.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the DCI messagecontains paging scheduling information.
 19. The method of claim 16,wherein the DCI message comprises a first DCI message and the anothermessage comprises a second DCI message, the method further comprising:transmitting the second DCI message having the DCI Format, wherein theindication provided by the respective bit field in the second DCIprovides the second indication for the second type of controlinformation; and scrambling CRC bits attached to the second DCI messageusing the second RNTI.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the secondtype of control information comprises system information, and whereinthe second indication comprises a system information format indicator ora short system information indicator.
 21. The method of claim 20,wherein the second RNTI comprises a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI).22. The method of claim 19, wherein the second type of controlinformation comprises random access information, and wherein the secondindication comprises a configuration for a Message 3 (Msg3)transmission.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the configuration forthe Msg3 transmission indicates whether the UE should transmit a beamindex in the Msg3 transmission.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein thebeam index corresponds to a synchronization signal block index or achannel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) index.
 25. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the second RNTI comprises a random accessRNTI (RA-RNTI).
 26. The method of claim 19, wherein the second type ofcontrol information comprises a grant, and wherein the second indicationcomprises a configuration for at least one of an uplink or downlinktransmission, a DCI format identifier, a transmit power control (TPC)command for scheduled physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a PUCCHresource indicator, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)-to-hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback timing indicator, a new dataindicator, a redundancy version indicator, or a HARQ process number. 27.The method of claim 26, wherein the second RNTI comprises a cell RNTI(C-RNTI).
 28. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: aprocessor, memory in electronic communication with the processor; andinstructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor tocause the apparatus to: monitor a control channel for downlink controlinformation (DCI) from a base station; identify a DCI message in thecontrol channel corresponding to a radio network temporary identifier(RNTI) used to successfully descramble cyclic redundancy check (CRC)bits attached to the DCI message, the DCI message having a DCI format;interpret at least one bit field in the DCI message based at least inpart on the RNTI, wherein interpreting the at least one bit field of theDCI message of the DCI format comprise interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message as a first indication when the RNTI comprises afirst RNTI and interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCImessage as a second indication when the RNTI comprises a second RNTIthat is different from the first RNTI, wherein the first RNTI comprisesa paging RNTI (P-RNTI) and the first indication comprises a shortmessage indicator; and communicating with the base station based atleast in part on interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCImessage.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: determinethe type of control information included in the DCI message based atleast in part on the RNTI wherein interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message comprises interpreting based on the determiningthe type of control information.
 30. The apparatus of claim 28, whereinthe short message indicator indicates whether the DCI message comprisesa short paging message.
 31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the typeof control information included in the DCI message comprises pagingscheduling information and the RNTI comprises the P-RNTI.
 32. Theapparatus of claim 28, wherein the second RNTI comprises a systeminformation RNTI (SI-RNTI) and the second indication comprises a systeminformation format indicator or a short system information indicator.33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the second RNTI comprises a cellRNTI (C-RNTI) and the second indication comprises a configuration for atleast one of an uplink or downlink transmission, a DCI formatidentifier, a transmit power control (TPC) command for scheduledphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a PUCCH resource indicator, aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) feedback timing indicator, a new data indicator, aredundancy version indicator, or a HARQ process number.
 34. Theapparatus of claim 28, wherein the second RNTI comprises a random accessRNTI (RA-RNTI) and the second indication comprises a configuration for aMessage 3 (Msg3) transmission.
 35. The apparatus of claim 34, whereinthe configuration for the Msg3 transmission indicates whether to includea beam index in the Msg3 transmission.
 36. The apparatus of claim 35,wherein the beam index corresponds to a synchronization signal blockindex or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) index.37. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the RNTI comprise the P-RNTI, andthe first indication comprises the short message indicator.
 38. Theapparatus of claim 37, wherein the DCI message comprises a first DCImessage, wherein the instructions are further executable by theprocessor to cause the apparatus to: identify a second DCI message inthe control channel corresponding to the second RNTI; interpret the atleast one bit field in the second DCI message as the second indication.39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: determine a firsttype of control information included in the first DCI message based atleast in part on the P-RNTI, wherein the first type of controlinformation comprises paging information, wherein the paging informationincluded in the first DCI message comprises one or more of the shortmessage indicator, a short paging message or downlink paging schedulinginformation; and determine a second type of control information includedin the second DCI message based at least in part on the second RNTI. 40.The apparatus of claim 38, wherein one or more of: the second RNTIcomprises a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI) and the second indicationcomprises a system information format indicator or a short systeminformation indicator; the second RNTI comprises a cell RNTI (C-RNTI)and the second indication comprises a configuration for at least one ofan uplink or downlink transmission, a DCI format identifier, a transmitpower control (TPC) command for scheduled physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH), a PUCCH resource indicator, a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH) to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedbacktiming indicator, a new data indicator, a redundancy version indicator,or a HARQ process number; or the second RNTI comprises a random accessRNTI (RA-RNTI) and the second indication comprises a configuration for aMessage 3 (Msg3) transmission.
 41. The apparatus of claim 28, furthercomprising determining the type of control information included in theDCI message based at least in part on the RNTI, wherein the instructionsto determine the type of control information included in the DCI messagefurther are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:identify resources used to transmit the DCI message; and determine thetype of control information included in the DCI message based at leastin part on the resources used to transmit the DCI message.
 42. Theapparatus of claim 28, wherein the at least one bit field in the DCImessage provides a different indication from a respective bit field inanother DCI message of a same DCI format as the DCI format includinganother type of control information.
 43. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a processor, memory in electroniccommunication with the processor; and instructions stored in the memoryand executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: identify, ata base station, a first type of control information to transmit to auser equipment (UE) in a downlink control information (DCI) messagehaving a DCI format; generate the DCI message for transmitting the firsttype of control information; utilize at least one bit field in the DCImessage to provide an indication corresponding to the first type ofcontrol information, wherein the indication provided by the at least onebit field is different from an indication provided by a respective bitfield in another DCI message having the DCI format for a second type ofcontrol information; and transmit the DCI message having a DCI format tothe UE and scrambling cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits attached to theDCI message using a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI)corresponding to the first type of control information, wherein theindication of the at least one bit field comprises a first indicationand the RNTI comprises a first RNTI when the first type of controlinformation is identified and the indication comprises a secondindication and the RNTI comprises a second RNTI when the second type ofcontrol information is identified, and wherein the first type of controlinformation comprises paging information and the first RNTI comprise thepaging RNTI, and wherein utilizing the at least one bit field in the DCImessage to provide an indication corresponding to the first type ofcontrol information comprises utilizing the at least one bit field inthe DCI message as a short message indicator.
 44. The apparatus of claim43, wherein the short message indicator indicates whether the DCImessage comprises a short paging message.
 45. The apparatus of claim 44,wherein the DCI message contains paging scheduling information.
 46. Theapparatus of claim 43, wherein the DCI message comprises a first DCImessage and the another message comprises a second DCI message, whereinthe instructions are further executable by the processor to cause theapparatus to: transmit the second DCI message having the DCI Format,wherein the indication provided by the respective bit field in thesecond DCI provides the second indication for the second type of controlinformation; and scramble CRC bits attached to the second DCI messageusing the second RNTI.
 47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the secondtype of control information comprises system information, and whereinthe second indication comprises a system information format indicator ora short system information indicator.
 48. The apparatus of claim 47,wherein the second RNTI comprises a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI).49. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the second type of controlinformation comprises random access information, and wherein the secondindication comprises a configuration for a Message 3 (Msg3)transmission.
 50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the configurationfor the Msg3 transmission indicates whether the UE should transmit abeam index in the Msg3 transmission.
 51. The apparatus of claim 50,wherein the beam index corresponds to a synchronization signal blockindex or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) index.52. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the second RNTI comprises arandom access RNTI (RA-RNTI).
 53. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein thesecond type of control information comprises a grant, and wherein thesecond indication comprises a configuration for at least one of anuplink or downlink transmission, a DCI format identifier, a transmitpower control (TPC) command for scheduled physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH), a PUCCH resource indicator, a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH)-to-hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedbacktiming indicator, a new data indicator, a redundancy version indicator,or a HARQ process number.
 54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein thesecond RNTI comprises a cell RNTI (C-RNTI).
 55. An apparatus forwireless communication, comprising: means for monitoring a controlchannel for downlink control information (DCI) from a base station;means for identifying a DCI message in the control channel correspondingto a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) used to successfullydescramble cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits attached to the DCImessage, the DCI message having a DCI format; means for interpreting atleast one bit field in the DCI message based at least in part on theRNTI, wherein interpreting the at least one bit field of the DCI messageof the DCI format comprise interpreting the at least one bit field inthe DCI message as a first indication when the RNTI comprises a firstRNTI and interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCI message as asecond indication when the RNTI comprises a second RNTI that isdifferent from the first RNTI, wherein the first RNTI comprises a pagingRNTI (P-RNTI) and the first indication comprises a short messageindicator; and means for communicating with the base station based atleast in part on interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCImessage.
 56. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: meansfor identifying a first type of control information to transmit to auser equipment (UE) in a downlink control information (DCI) messagehaving a DCI format; means for generating the DCI message fortransmitting the first type of control information; means for utilizingat least one bit field in the DCI message to provide an indicationcorresponding to the first type of control information, wherein theindication provided by the at least one bit field is different from anindication provided by a respective bit field in another DCI messagehaving the DCI format for a second type of control information; andmeans for transmitting the DCI message to the UE and scrambling cyclicredundancy check (CRC) bits attached to the DCI message using a radionetwork temporary identifier (RNTI) corresponding to the first type ofcontrol information, wherein the indication of the at least one bitfield comprises a first indication and the RNTI comprises a first RNTIwhen the first type of control information is identified and theindication comprises a second indication and the RNTI comprises a secondRNTI when the second type of control information is identified, andwherein the first type of control information comprises paginginformation and the first RNTI comprise the paging RNTI, and whereinutilizing the at least one bit field in the DCI message to provide anindication corresponding to the first type of control informationcomprises utilizing the at least one bit field in the DCI message as ashort message indicator.
 57. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring code for wireless communication, the code comprisinginstructions executable by a processor to: monitor a control channel fordownlink control information (DCI) from a base station; identify a DCImessage in the control channel corresponding to a radio networktemporary identifier (RNTI) used to successfully descramble cyclicredundancy check (CRC) bits attached to the DCI message, the DCI messagehaving a DCI format; interpret at least one bit field in the DCI messagebased at least in part on the RNTI, wherein interpreting the at leastone bit field of the DCI message of the DCI format comprise interpretingthe at least one bit field in the DCI message as a first indication whenthe RNTI comprises a first RNTI and interpreting the at least one bitfield in the DCI message as a second indication when the RNTI comprisesa second RNTI that is different from the first RNTI, wherein the firstRNTI comprises a paging RNTI (P-RNTI) and the first indication comprisesa short message indicator; and communicating with the base station basedat least in part on interpreting the at least one bit field in the DCImessage.
 58. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code forwireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by aprocessor to: identify a first type of control information to transmitto a user equipment (UE) in a downlink control information (DCI) messagehaving a DCI format; generate the DCI message for transmitting the firsttype of control information; utilize at least one bit field in the DCImessage to provide an indication corresponding to the first type ofcontrol information, wherein the indication provided by the at least onebit field is different from an indication provided by a respective bitfield in another DCI message having the DCI format for a second type ofcontrol information; and transmit the DCI message to the UE andscrambling cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits attached to the DCImessage using a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) correspondingto the first type of control information, wherein the indication of theat least one bit field comprises a first indication and the RNTIcomprises a first RNTI when the first type of control information isidentified and the indication comprises a second indication and the RNTIcomprises a second RNTI when the second type of control information isidentified, and wherein the first type of control information comprisespaging information and the first RNTI comprise the paging RNTI, andwherein utilizing the at least one bit field in the DCI message toprovide an indication corresponding to the first type of controlinformation comprises utilizing the at least one bit field in the DCImessage as a short message indicator.